了不起的盖茨比（特里马尔乔）

    导读：菲茨杰拉德曾考虑将他的书命名为《Trimalchio》或《west egg》，因为出身卑微的盖茨比与罗马文学中的这位奴隶相似。Trimalchio已经成为文学人物的象征，他们出身卑微，并试图通过奢侈的生活方式来克服自卑感和别人的偏见。

     盖茨比和黛西重聚后，盖茨比不再像以前那样频繁举行宴会，也不再试图通过举办盛大派对来向外界证明自己的成功，因此，他不再是一个像特里马尔乔一样的人物。

    It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night—and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over. Only gradually did I become aware that the automobiles which turned expectantly into his drive stayed for just a minute and then drove sulkily away. Wondering if he were sick I went over to find out—an unfamiliar butler with a villainous face squinted at me suspiciously from the door.

Sulkily：闷闷不乐地。Villainous：邪恶的;可憎的。Squinted：瞇着眼睛看;斜视;(人)患斜视。Obscurely：费解地，晦涩地；隐匿地。

   正当人们对盖茨比好奇之至，在一个周日的晚上，他却把豪宅里的灯全都灭了--于是，他作为特里马尔乔①的生涯，如同开始时的那般，隐秘地结束了。我逐渐发觉那些宾客满怀期待地将车开上他的车道，稍停片刻之后又扫兴地开走了。我疑心他是否病了，于是走过去看看--一个面露凶相的陌生男管家

在门口一脸狐疑地斜瞅我。

　　①特里马尔乔，是公元1世纪古罗马抒情诗人盖厄斯 · 佩特罗尼乌斯 · 阿尔比特（Gaius Petronius Arbiter）的小说《萨蒂利孔》（Satyricon）当中的人物。

　　“Is Mr. Gatsby sick?”

     "盖茨比先生病了吗？"

   “Nope.” After a pause he added “sir.” in a dilatory, grudging way.

Dilatory：[ˈdɪlətəri拖拉的;拖延的;延误的。Grudging：[ˈɡrʌdʒɪŋ] 勉强的;不情愿的。

     "没有。"他顿了顿，才慢吞吞地、不情愿地补上一声"先生"。

　　“I hadn’t seen him around, and I was rather worried. Tell him Mr. Carraway came over.”

     "我好久没看见他了，很不放心。告诉他卡罗威先生来过。"

　　“Who?” he demanded rudely.

     "谁？"他粗鲁地问。

　　“Carraway.”

     "卡罗威。"

　　“Carraway. All right, I’ll tell him.” Abruptly he slammed the door.

     "卡罗威。好啦，我告诉他。"他旋即粗鲁地关上了大门。

    My Finn informed me that Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house a week ago and replaced them with half a dozen others, who never went into West Egg Village to be bribed by the tradesmen, but ordered moderate supplies over the telephone. The grocery boy reported that the kitchen looked like a pigsty, and the general opinion in the village was that the new people weren’t servants at all.

Bribe：[braɪb] 向(某人)行贿;贿赂。Pigsty：[ˈpɪɡstaɪ] 猪圈;猪场;肮脏的地方。

    我的芬兰女佣人告诉我，盖茨比早在一周前就辞退了家里的所有佣人，重新雇用了五六个人，这些人从来不到西卵镇上，拿那些店家的贿赂，而是打电话订购适量的生活补给品。据食品店送货的伙计打小报告说，厨房看上去像个猪圈，而镇上人也普遍觉得，这些新人压根儿不像佣人。

　　Next day Gatsby called me on the phone.

    第二天盖茨比给我打来了电话。

　　“Going away?” I inquired.

     "你要走了？"我问。

　　“No, old sport.”

     "没有，老兄。"

　　“I hear you fired all your servants.”

     "我听说你把所有的仆人都辞了。"

　　“I wanted somebody who wouldn’t gossip. Daisy comes over quite often—in the afternoons.”

    "我需要的是不乱嚼舌根的人。黛西经常来--下午的时候。"

    So the whole caravansary had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes.

Caravansary：(旧时亚洲和北非沙漠地区的)商队客店;旅行队。

    原来只因黛西反感，这座大酒店就像纸牌搭的房子一样坍掉了。

　“They’re some people Wolfshiem wanted to do something for. They’re all brothers and sisters. They used to run a small hotel.”

     "他们是沃尔夫山姆想要帮点儿忙的人。他们都是兄弟姐妹，之前是小旅馆的。"

　　“I see.”

     "我明白了。"

    He was calling up at Daisy’s request—would I come to lunch at her house to-morrow? Miss Baker would be there. Half an hour later Daisy herself telephoned and seemed relieved to find that I was coming. Something was up. And yet I couldn’t believe that they would choose this occasion for a scene—especially for the rather harrowing scene that Gatsby had outlined in the garden.

Harrow：[ˈhærəʊ] 耙地;折磨，使苦恼。Outline：概述；概括。

    他是应黛西的要求打电话来的—问我明天是否可以到黛西家吃午餐？贝克小姐也来。半小时之后，黛西又亲自打电话过来，一听我会来，好像松了口气。想必那天会有场大戏上演。然而我却不敢相信他们竟然会选择这样一个场合--尤其还是盖茨比早先在花园里粗略提及的，那将是一场令人抓狂的场面。